David Milner, Managing Director of Marine AV said, “All MP3 players, including iPods, have a headphone jack socket (3.5mm size) which can be used to connect with a stereo, CD or DVD unit via their RCA ‘aux’ input.  We have a range of adapters - some suitable for fitting inside the cabin, others that are suitable for open sports boats. It’s all about choosing the right adapter for the job.”

For open boat installations, a choice of two waterproof adapters can be combined with waterproof H2O audio cases to ensure that the iPod player can be used without fear of a soaking from a breaking wave.

No RCA auxiliary input? No problem – Marine AV has the solution. If your onboard system has a radio but no ‘aux’ input, Marine AV offers an FM transmitter interface adapter that broadcasts a signal from the MP3 player to the stereo radio on an FM frequency and over a range of up to 10 metres.

For Sony, Clarion and Alpine, Marine AV can provide specific interface adapters that allow direct connection to the head unit. IPod track names, playlists etc will be viewable on the head unit, and tracks can be chosen via the head unit or, in some cases via an optional remote control. The adapter even allows the iPod to be charged at the same time.

A range of iPod cradles is also available and provides a secure mounting for several models of iPod, allowing the unit to charge and provide generic controls such as volume and track choice.

For the ultimate solution for sound, photo and video connectivity, however, look no further than the Marantz IS201 iPod Docking Station. It provides full integration of any iPod model with any hi-fi system and can be fitted to a bulkhead, or at a chart table, or alongside a berth. A single wire connects the docking station to the connection case to alleviate cable clutter.

The Marantz IS201 creates its own on-screen display via the s-video output, which can be fed to the video switching in an AV control head or direct to a TV. Audio is transferred via standard stereo phono leads to provide top-quality sound. A dedicated remote control provides full function control over the iPod.

Whatever the installation, Marine AV has an interface adapter that will provide the right link between an iPod or MP3 player and the boat’s onboard entertainment system.

For further information, please contact:
Unit 8, Mercian Park, Felspar Road, Tamworth B77 4DP, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)870 609 1446.  Fax:  +44 (0)1827 69106
Email:
www.marine-audio.com

MarinePod’s unique design allows any pod to fit either system with a template supplied to allow easy drilling for the correct fixing points.  MarinePod is manufactured in the UK utilising a patented UV resistant ABS plastic and specialist seal system.  For a small additional cost, they can be factory pre-cut to suit your equipment from either a template or CAD file – they even have details on file for most popular items such as Garmin’s 4000/5000 Series and Raymarine’s ST60, E and C Series.  The pods fit to the binnacle rail with a series of heavy duty plastic clamps included with the system as standard.  These plastic clamps can also be exchanged for the Edson range of stainless steel brackets if required and the pods are compatible with Edson arms and steering system accessories.

Thanks to a clever design, the series of five pods can accommodate virtually every item of marine electronic equipment, including multi-function displays from Raymarine, Northstar, Lowrance, Simrad, Furuno and Garmin.  Prices start from £169.95 including VAT for the MP3 (as per photograph), which houses three of the popular 110mm format square instruments.

For further information, please contact:
Marine Electronic Services Ltd, Marine House, Unit 10, City Business Park, Easton Road, Bristol BS5 0SP, United Kingdom
Telephone: 0870 122 1099.  Fax: 0870 122 1098.
Email:
www.mesltd.co.uk

tour-de-france

test-bmea-movie

01-infernal-_-from-paris-to-berlin

Navico announced today the brand transition of its well-known Navman marine product line primarily into the Northstar Explorer Series in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). This transition will enhance the line and provide boaters an expanded range of Northstar electronics solutions to meet their boating needs. With both brands known for ease of use and ingenuity, the new Explorer Series integrates the best of both into a product range that truly combines the Navman high value offering with the prestige of Northstar.

“The reception to combining the Navman and Northstar lines in the Americas last year was enthusiastically positive,” said Jens-Thomas Pietralla, president and CEO, Navico. “Boaters prefer the common design elements and full line solution the Northstar brand offers. Distributors and resellers like the greater feature set found in the combined line.”

“Led by the 8000i, the first touch screen multifunction system offered in Europe, the popularity of Northstar systems is rapidly growing among European consumers, boat builders and dealers alike. We expect increased customer satisfaction from another successful transition for EMEA,” concluded Pietralla.

The Navman products will be fully integrated in the Northstar Explorer Series by August of this year. Navman products will be distributed by Navico’s independent distributors while supplies last. All existing Navman customers will continue to receive full warranty including extended and enhanced service levels through Navico’s extensive dealer and distribution network.

For more information about Navico and its marine electronics brands visit:
www.navico.com

Navico UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1794 510010
Email:

There are now two new two-year policies to cover both installations and stand-alone Garmin product purchases.

The new “Back to Base” service is for all of its stand alone units, excluding hand-helds.  To activate the warranty, customers are required to register at the “My Garmin” portal on the Garmin website. Then, if any problem is encountered, the product can be simply packaged-up and returned to Garmin for investigation, replacement or repair.  Garmin has a swift  turnaround service and aims to resolve any issues within one week.

Hand-held GPS units are not included and retain the current one year warranty, but are subject to the ‘Back to Base’ treatment in every other way should a problem occur.

The new “Onboard” service is for all of Garmin’s 3000, 4000 and revolutionary touch screen 5000 series network units and their associated radars, sounder-modules and other ancillaries.  The Onboard warranty registration is completed by the installation agent and in the event of any faults within the warranty period, the customer contacts Garmin directly.  Garmin will then arrange for a visit from the nearest agent who will swap-out the product or resolve the problem in-situ.

Garmin has agreements with service centres across the UK who are expert in the supply and fitting of marine electronic products. There are already over 30 of these service centres around the country, all of which have fully trained staff to install and repair marine electronics, with more being added each week.

Garmin is also currently in the process of setting up a worldwide service network and database to record details of all installed products. Regardless of where a boat originates from or visits, this information will be accessible to all service centres worldwide. This would enable a boat to be commissioned in Southampton and sailed to Sydney without any red tape for repairs if something goes wrong along the way.

Building on its already successful marine after-sales service, Garmin currently has a less than ¼% returns rate on their network product and this new warranty service supports Garmin’s ever-expanding, market-leading marine product range.

The Garmin product support number for any customer or warranty enquiries is 0808 2380000

Visit www.garmin.co.uk  for more information and for a full list of service centres.

Dedicated product support teams will be available on site from two days prior to the start of the competition at Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth, to offer professional technical advice and support to anyone who has questions and concerns about their kit, or requires additional training. In addition, Raymarine product support teams will be on hand at every stop-over to ensure on-site assistance is available for those who require it.

More than 40 boats are likely to start the race, including two Raymarine ambassadors; leading offshore powerboat racer Shelley Jory, and Greg Marsden, who’s extreme ‘Vampire’ RIB is expected to give the on-board Raymarine equipment a punishing workout during the challenge.

The event, scheduled to last more than ten days, will start and finish off the shores of Portsmouth, at Southsea Castle.  Set to follow the same format as the 1969 and 1984 events, the race is believed to be the greatest offshore powerboat race to be held in the world for many years.

The event, which starts on Saturday 21st June, is not for the faint-hearted. It’s only the third time in the 100 year history of offshore powerboat racing in the UK that this race has been held, and it will echo the previous races when bravery, endurance and sheer grit saw pilots power their way around the UK coastline.

This now gives the Company the opportunity to stock the complete product range for the UK and European marine market, which is changing on a weekly basis.  Managing Director, David Milner commented, “Keeping up with the latest technology in AV equipment is challenging, yet exciting at the same time.  We now have 5,000 sq ft of warehousing available, which puts us in an enviable position.”

He added, “Marine AV is showing some amazing growth.  We were delighted with 2007’s results; in which we came in over-achieving our target by 20% in what has been viewed by many as an extremely volatile year.”

Marine AV is not just a ‘box shifter’, but offers the entire package, with a dedicated sales and technical team ready to advise both trade and consumer customers, plus a team concentrating on the design and build of systems, and a full installation team too.  From the manufacturer to the end user, it’s a ‘one stop shop’ offering worldwide warranty and full after sales support, together with on-site training for both engineers and sales sttaff.

About Marine AV:
Marine AV was formed six years ago, and currently supplies many of the major OEMs, such as Princess Yachts, Fairline, Broom Boats, Sealine, Pascoe Int, RIB-X, Williams and MRL, as well as many more trade and marine electronics specialists.
They supply all the leading brands such as Sony, JL Audio, JBL & Infinity, Aquatic AV, Poly-planar & H2O Audio, offering equipment to suit all budgets and applications.  From small dedicated MP3 kits to multi-zone bespoke systems, Marine AV specialises in creating the right system for its customers, plus excellent after-sales support and assistance.
For further information, please contact:
Marine AV Ltd, Unit 8, Mercian Park, Felspar Road, Tamworth B77 4DP, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)870 609 1446.  Fax:  +44 (0)1827 69106
Email:  
www.marine-audio.com

Unlike car audio units, the Aquatic AV sets are completely waterproof - front and back - rated to IP65. Both DVD and CD units feature stainless-steel sealed chassis with conformal coated printed circuit boards and double sealed water protection transport gaskets.  In short, they’re built specifically for the marine environment and are the best in the industry.

Both sets are extremely versatile. They include AM/FM radio tuners and will accept MP3 or iPod player input. The DVD player also features a SD card slot that allows music, photo and video recorded from your computer, still or video camera to be played onboard the boat. To show video or photographs, the DVD player requires an optional LCD monitor or compatible chart plotter screen for display purposes.

Each set has a white low current/low heat LCD display and large white backlit controls and can support up to four independent wired remote controls. The central unit and the remotes also feature infrared sensors for wireless control.
Audio output is provided via four RCA (phono) leads and can provide dual zone operation, allowing music to be piped to two independent areas with the volume in each controlled separately.

An auxiliary 12V output allows additional equipment to be connected to the boat’s supply.

Recommended Retail Prices:
Aquatic AV CD Tuner: £249.95 including VAT

Aquatic AV DVD: £349.95 including VAT

For further information, please contact:
Marine AV Ltd, Unit 8, Mercian Park, Felspar Road, Tamworth B77 4DP, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)870 609 1446.  Fax:  +44 (0)1827 69106
Email:
www.marine-audio.com

The new models incorporate a 16 Channel GPS receiver that in an emergency will allow transmission of the beacon’s latitude and longitude as well as the identification of the owner. This will result in a much faster emergency response time through the geostationary GEOSAR satellite constellation and most importantly a reduced search and rescue area, typically less than 100 metres compared to around 5 kilometres with conventional 406MHz beacons.

Kevin Turner of SM Group (Europe) Ltd commented

“This is terrific news, the approval of the GME MT403G and MT403FG beacons further strengthens the GME brand in the market with the MT410/G PLB’s and MT401/401FF NON GPS EPIRBS already selling well on both feature advantages and price competitiveness.

Now with a full beacon portfolio including manual, water and automatic activated EPIRBs, PLBs and now GPS beacons, we have a safety solution for all contingencies be it pleasure boating, commercial shipping, general aviation or land based activities.”

The MT403G and its derivative the auto-release MT403FG, will be available for sale from May this year. The MT403G will retail for around £439.00 including value added tax with the MT403FG retailing for around £629.00 including value added tax.

For more information contact:
Kevin Turner
SM GROUP (Europe) Ltd
Mercator House, Brest Road, Plymouth International, Devon. PL6 5XP
Phone:  01752 241002 
Fax:    01752 241040
Email:     
Web:    www.smgeurope.com

Now you can get great audio from bow to stern with a new fully waterproof, AM/FM /CD / MP3 multi-zone component system from Poly-Planar. The system offers independent volume control , infrared remote control and local zone input in up to four zones and two auxiliary inputs on the receiver to let you pipe through the sound from an IPOD, TV or VCR anywhere on board, too.  MRD-70 main features include:

• AM/FM / CD / MP3 compatible
• Waterproof design (Front panel IP65)
• RMS operating power 20W/CH x 4
• 2 Auxiliary inputs
• 1 Auxiliary output fixed line output
• No-skip CD / MP3 with 10 second delay

RD-44 Remote Head - main features include:

• Full control of audio functions and sources
• 32 character back lighted display
• Self dimming for night use
• Back lighted keypad
• Flush panel or gimbal bracket mount options
• Integral intercom with speaker
• Infrared remote control
• DIN cable of MRD-70 or MZ100
• Flush dimensions 112 x 112 x 17mm

The MRD-70 is supplied complete with a RD-44 Remote Head at an SSP of £359.95 including value added tax and additional RD-44 Remote Displays are available at an SSP of £82.95 including value added tax.

For more information contact:
Kevin Turner
SM GROUP (Europe) Ltd
Mercator House, Brest Road, Plymouth International, Devon. PL6 5XP
Phone:  01752 241002 
Fax:    01752 241040
Email:     
Web:    www.smgeurope.com

Weighing in at less than 600 grams and measuring a tiny 166(w) x 65(h) x 77(d) mm, the GME GX600D is perfect for flush mounting in areas of limited space, where only a 50 mm panel depth is available.

Flexibility has been key in the design of the GME GX600D. Such features as its impressive size, IP67 waterproof rating, colour choice, range of mounting and second station options sets the GME GX600D apart from the competition.

Standard equipment on the GME GX600D is a full function keypad microphone with an extremely simple ‘mobile phone style’ operating system, ensuring operators of every skill level can access the full benefit of the radio’s extensive feature list.

The 25 Watt GME GX600D however goes well beyond this basic safety requirement as when interfaced with a GPS receiver, it will be able to transmit crucial vessel information including position and the nature of the distress call whether it be fire, flooding, collision, grounding, capsize, sinking, adrift, abandoning, piracy or man overboard. In an emergency, one push of the “red button” will send an automated digital distress alert containing your position and Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number to rescue facilities and other DSC-equipped vessels in the area.

The GME GX600D DSC radio also provides boat owners with a valuable range of non-emergency capabilities, permitting communication with another boat or group of boats using individual or group MMSI numbers. If interfaced to a suitable GPS / chart plotter the radio can send, receive and display each vessel’s position ??? as well.

Competing products in this price range often employ a single receiver to monitor both voice and data, the GME GX600D comes complete with a second receiver so both voice and data are monitored independently ensuring the user will never miss a DSC call.

The GME also offers a unique second station remote option for the GME GX600D, ideal for larger fly-bridge cruisers. The RM600 provides all the features of the main unit whilst also offering the utility of two-way intercom.

The GME GX600D, with full RTT&E UK approval is designed and manufactured in Australia and complements GME’s expanding range of waterproof marine products.

GME GX600D - main features include:
• Exceeds the class D European specification for DSC operation
• Compact and waterproof
• Simple user interface, mobile phone style operating system
• Full function ketpad microphone
• Chartplotter function for tracking feature
• 2nd station remote option
• Multiple mouting options
• Available in white and black

Distributed by SM GROUP (Europe) Ltd the GX600D will retail at around £235.00 inc VAT and the RM600D second station £140.00.

For more information contact:
Kevin Turner
SM GROUP (Europe) Ltd
Mercator House, Brest Road, Plymouth International, Devon. PL6 5XP
Phone:  01752 241002 
Fax:    01752 241040
Email:     
Web:    www.smgeurope.com

Compatible with all Lowrance 2007 and 2008 colour LMS, LCX and GlobalMap® models with 5”, 7”, 8.4” and 10.4” displays, the update provides support for award-winning Navionics Platinum and Platinum HotMaps cartography featuring satellite and high-aerial photo overlays, 3D bathymetric bottom contours detail and panoramic port photography. The update also provides support for the company’s advanced next-generation sonar solution, the Lowrance Broadband Sounder-1. The Broadband Sounder-1 provides best-in-class shallow and deep-water performance and DSP technology with digital filtering for clear target display definition. Available as a free download, the Lowrance 2.3.0 software update provides these, as well as several other, powerful feature enhancements allowing Lowrance customers to get the most out of their sonar and chartplotter electronics.

In addition to Navionics Platinum and Broadband Sounder-1 support, the Lowrance 2.3.0 software update includes features such as new high-definition (HD) digital radome compatibility for exceptional target detection and resolution; radar/chart overlay that employs Simrad heading sensors; and enhancements to all exiting language support, with the addition of Greek and Polish. The update also provides other features like an innovative screen snapshot mode that allows users to capture and save sonar or GPS screens for future reference; chart redraw speed and sonar digital depth tracking improvements; and a new range of sonar presets.

“The 2.3.0 upgrade gives our customers access to the most advanced sonar technology and best cartography available,” said James Duynisveld, Product Expert Manager, Navico. “We are thrilled to offer Lowrance owners an update packed full of rich performance upgrades for increased functionality.”

The Lowrance 2.3.0 update can be downloaded from www.lowrance.com

More information on the version 2.3.0 update, Lowrance or its entire line of marine electronics is available by contacting:

Telephone: +44 (0) 1794 510010 (Navico UK)
Email:  
Web:  www.lowrance.com

Icom UK (www.icomuk.co.uk) will be loaning the organisers six IC-M31 Marine Handheld VHF Transceivers to help with the communications between land and water. Race management team, race control and committee boats will use the marine handhelds to oversee the event and to ensure any emergencies are dealt with quickly.

Estelle Deerenberg, Marketing Executive of RTYC said, “The radios will help us to be more responsive to any emergencies and overall to improve the management of the week.

She went on to say “Icom has been extremely responsive to our request as we made contact in 2007. We were let down by our previous supporter just before Ramsgate Week 2007 and needed help. ICOM is a very well known and successful provider of marine radios and luckily based in Herne Bay which is a mere 20 min. from the yacht club. We are extremely grateful for Icom’s support and look forward to a long and lasting relationship with them as our communications supplier”.

About Ramsgate Week

The Royal Temple Yacht Club was founded in 1857 by a group of yachtsmen sailing from the Temple Steps, on the river Thames in the centre of London. The club launched an annual Ramsgate Week regatta in 1898. It changed name a few times along the way. It attracts many sailors from the UK, especially East Coast and international sailors from the Netherlands, Belgium and France.The have had competitors from as far away as Estonia and Japan. Ramsgate town is home to the only Royal Harbour in the country and has a wealth of restaurants, cafes and pubs. For more info visit www.rtyc.com/ramsgateweek.htm

Icom Marketing:

Royal Temple Yacht Club

This not for profit venture will be the worlds first UIM Powerboat to break the world record using only renewable fuel. Built from carbon and Diab foam, Earthrace is a wave piercing trimaran, with a top speed of 40 knots. Setting off from the start in Valencia on March 29th 2008, the boat will cross the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans and travel through the Panama and Suez Canals.

To help the in the running of the attempt Icom has donated IC-M33 buoyant VHF handhelds to the crew. Skipper, Pete Bethune, welcomed the involvement of Icom to the Earthrace team and said: “The equipment they (Icom) are providing will be crucial to the team. Visibility from inside the cockpit looking towards the stern is difficult when we are docking, especially for those all important refuelling stops. Having the marine hand held IC-M33 VHF radios will mean that the crew can communicate easily with the pilot. We aim to be in and out of each refuelling stops within a window of about four hours, and with the radios on board Earthrace, and two held by the ground crew, we can be sure of safe, quick and efficient stops, keeping us on track towards the world record.”

Ian Lockyer, Marketing Manager said: “Earthrace is a really exciting project and we are delighted to be involved. In this day and age there is a huge need to raise the awareness of bio-fuel, reducing your carbon footprint and generally developing “green practices”. We wish them all the best of luck and hope they smash the record”

Marketing Dept:

The Gulf Craft Majesty 101, Palm Marine Islander 420, Maxum 4200SY Sports Yacht from Azure Marine, and Al Shaali AS68 all carried the highly impressive G Series system plus the new HD Digital radar antenna, which has aroused great interest from boat builders and owners since its launch at METS last November.

The Palm Marine Islander 420, Maxum 4200SY, and Al Shaali AS68 were fitted with multiple G170, G150, and/or G120 high visibility, sunlight viewable, low profile LCD displays, which provide unrivalled detail with high resolution graphics on screens that are clear and easy-to-see. A fourth boat, Gulf Craft’s luxurious Majesty 101, specified the largest G Series 19” displays both on the main helm and fly bridge. 

With reports that Dubai’s maritime sector will see a 15 per cent increase in boat ownership within the next 12 months, as a result of the increased availability of berthing space and better maritime facilities, Raymarine’s Sales Manager for the area, Peter Wales, was delighted to have such a noticeable company presence at the Show.  Peter said, “The new G Series is going from strength to strength. Combined with HD Digital radar, it’s a real breakthrough in navigation systems for leisure boats.” 

Jimmy Grewal, Executive Director of Gulf Development Systems, said, “We’re proud of the work we are doing with Raymarine to launch both the new G Series and HD Digital radar in this dynamic market and it’s pleasing to see how this new technology has been received at the Dubai show.”

Peter Wales added, “At the Dubai International Boat Show 2008, Raymarine was working for the first time with its new distributors Qatar, Alfardan Marine Services; for Saudi Arabia, Alkhorayef Marine and for the Maldives, Marine Equipments. The UAE distributor, Gulf Development Systems, also actively partnered Raymarine at this year’s show and received substantial new orders.”

Raymarine’s new G Series is fully marinised, designed to withstand the harsh saltwater environment. The system provides a central display for navigational data, instrument information, video and on-board cameras, radar, fishfinders and cartography. Pre-loaded cartography (complete Navionics Gold worldwide coverage and Navionics Platinum for entire geographic regions) is stored on the GPM400 processor module whose built-in high capacity hard drive provides the G Series with highly detailed mapping showing navigation charts, 3D topography, aerial photographic views of ports, port data, animated tides and currents. The GPM400 has ten times the processing speed of conventional marine electronics, and provides superb PC-like performance.

As well as providing easy to use and highly visible essential navigational data, the G Series is used to view data from on board cameras, and offers a full entertainment system. Each screen can be easily personalised, enabling users to select the data they wish to see at the touch of a button. 

Raymarine’s new HD digital open array automatically processes 16,000 levels of data digitally for superb clarity and target acquisition; combined with the screen technology available in the G Series displays, this offers options to use 256 colours on graded target returns. With such an advanced system, leisure boats can now access the type of radar images and detailed accuracy only previously available on commercial vessels.

The new G Series and HD Digital radar plus the full range of Raymarine equipment is available in the UAE through Gulf Development Systems. 

Email;   Tel; (+971)4 324 3131 Fax; (+971)4 324 3075

The CruzPro PcFF80 black box echo sounder enables a conventional PC or Laptop computer to function as an echosounder or fishfinder.  The PcFF80 system consists of a high speed Interface Box, a dual frequency 50khz/200kHz depth / temperature transducer and a programme CD.  Communication to the interface box is via the USB or RS-232 port. The PcFF80 system basically works by using the interface box and transducer to act as the transmit / receive section of an echosounder with the PC being used to process and display the data as required. This enables the user to have a fully functioning echo sounder with large display on their PC.

By taking advantage of a PC’s processing power it is possible to choose between Analogue & Digital Signal Processing.  The 50 / 200kHz dual frequency depth transducer provides the best resolution and definition of features at 200kHz in analogue mode to depths of 500ft.  With DSP (digital signal processing) it is possible reach depths of 1000+ft using 200kHz, which is impossible when using the analogue processing.

DSP enables the PcFF80 to reach deeper depths without reducing the frequency and without loss of resolution.  It is possible to see smaller objects in deeper water using DSP as the user can continue to use the higher resolution 200Khz frequency before having to switch down to the 50Khz and DSP to achieve maximum deep water performance.

The user has access to all the conventional echo sounder features and can adjust depth, range, zoom range, pulse width, power, receiver gain, surface clutter filtering, noise filtering and more.  Although maximum depth is specified at 1000ft using 200kHz and 1500ft using 50kHz, in DSP mode it has been possible to reach depths of 2750ft

Data can also be recorded to the PC’s hard drive and replayed later for further analysis. If a GPS is connected to the PC at the time of recording then Latitude, Longitude and Ground Speed are displayed and recorded in the log files. This is ideal for surveyors, dredgers and operators that require records for the future. 

All features of the Windows operating system are available, such as multi-tasking, the user can simultaneously run a charting and/or radar program whilst using the PcFF80 . Operating System / Hardware Requirements are WIN98 SE,NT, 2000, XP, 500 Mhz Pentium PC (or better),

The Cruz Pro PcFF80 is available from £519 ex VAT c/w plastic transducer; a bronze transducer option is also available. For further information please contact the UK distributor:

Mantsbrite Marine Electronics, 19F Spital Road, Maldon, Essex, CM9 6DY.
Tel 01621 853003. E mail

The New Kannad XS3 PLB is Kannad’s third generation of GPS PLB specifically designed for multi-environment use with safety at sea as the prime objective. KANNAD made the deliberate decision to develop a unique model with integrated GPS because life is too precious when isolated in hostile environment.

The Kannad 406 XS-3 GPS can be used at sea, on land or in the air. This new multi-environment Kannad 406 XS-3 GPS is the result of Kannad’s constant research and includes the latest technological advances such as the type of GPS used (sensitivity, consumption, fast acquisition and positioning), advanced components (consumption gain, miniaturization), non hazardous batteries and a design in line with its intended use as a hand carried product.

The Kannad XS3’s oval shape has been designed to fit perfectly in the palm of the hand. Its simple architecture is resumed in one flap for testing, one flap for activation with simple pictogram instructions for quick activation in distress. A sturdy attractive pouch is included and designed for clipping to a survival suit and to protect the PLB against knocks and shocks.

The Kannad XS3 GPS PLB has an RRP of £399.95 inc VAT. For further information please contact the UK distributor:

Mantsbrite Marine Electronics, 19F Spital Road, Maldon, Essex, CM9 6DY.
Tel 01621 853003. E mail

The new Koden MDC-2200 / 2500 series, are the latest 12.1” and 15” high performance radars from Koden with radar overlay onto C-Map Charts. Both radars feature a high resolution 1024 x 768 XGA display with a new antireflective screen that is visible in bright sunlight, radars in this class typically have a screen resolution of only 800 x 600 pixels. Aimed at professional users the radars feature individual control knobs for Gain, Sea and Rain Clutter. Users can also assign their own specific functions to dedicated “F” (function) keys for frequently used functions.

The open array antennas have also been upgraded and now offer improved sea clutter performance and target sensitivity. The antennas can run at either 24 or 48 RPM making the radars suitable for use on rivers with high traffic density or for use on high-speed craft that require a fast picture update. Power outputs ranging from 4kW to 25kW are available with a choice of 3ft to 9ft open arrays.

An interesting feature applicable to double-ended vessels such as ferries is the ability to operate two displays from one antenna with the heading line being rotated by 180 degrees, this being dependant upon which display is in use.

ATA (Automatic Tracking Aid) is fitted as standard and tracks up to 50 targets. Vessels being tracked are easily identified with a number and vector line. Detailed information such as CPA (Closest Point of Approach), speed, course etc is also displayed. If the automatic acquisition zone is set, up to 50 targets entering the zone will be automatically locked and tracked. When connected to a Koden Chartplotter, other vessels being tracked with the ATA can be shown and tracked on the chartplotter display. This is especially useful if a record of another vessels movements is required.

The radars also feature a true trail function when connected to a heading sensor and GPS. Moving targets will leave a true echo trail whereas stationary targets such as land and buoys leave no echo trail, even when the vessel is moving.

An optional AIS interface is also available allowing the radar to display information on up to 100 vessels equipped with AIS transmitters.

The Koden MDC 2200/2500 series radars are available from £4731 ex VAT, for further information please contact the UK distributor:

Mantsbrite Marine Electronics, 19F Spital Road, Maldon, Essex, CM9 6DY.
Tel 01621 853003. E mail